Preview Post: Devil's Lake State Park

Devil's Lake State Park is one of the state parks most visited by people I know.  It is most loved for its scenery, and there are many trails of varying difficulty throughout the park.  Devil's Lake also houses some Native American burial mounds.  The lake is clean, and many people camp here annually.

There's an unofficial travel guide website for the park at Devil's Lake Wisconsin


Devil's Lake State Park
S5975 Park Rd ~ Baraboo, WI ~ (608) 356-8301

Admission: State Park Vehicle Admission Sticker - $28/annual, $8/day

Preview Post: Kreher Park

Kreher Park is actually a city-owned RV campground, but it is also listed as a public beach, so I am assuming you can access the facilities without having a campsite there.  There is a playground and a beach...on Lake Superior.  Brr!  Most reviews I can find are from people who have camped there, and they have been positive.

Kreher Park
200 Prentice Avenue N ~ Ashland, WI

Preview Post: Maslowski Beach

Maslowski Beach in Ashland seems to be best known for its spring water.  It hosts a beach (obviously) but also has a playground.  There are also bathrooms, and it sounds like they are usually open based on reviews I've found in which people mention changing areas.  It is on Lake Superior, so pretty chilly, but by all accounts is usually a nice beach for playing.

Maslowski Beach
Highway 2 on the west side of Ashland, WI

Preview Post: Bayview Park

Dip your toes in Lake Superior with a visit to Bayview Park in Ashland.  Technically it's on Chequamegon Bay, so it has a LITTLE bit of a chance to get up to a swim-able temperature!  It looks to be a long and narrow park with quite a bit of lakefront.  There is a beach as well as a playground.

Bayview Park
1803 East Lake Shore Drive ~ Ashland, WI

Kingston Spring Lake Park

A friend introduced us to Kingston Spring Lake Park.  It is a a small park on the shore of Spring Lake in Green Lake County.

The lake is not big, but they have cleared a nice beach area with a decent amount of sand to play in.  The water in front of the sand is pretty nice too, though there were lots of weeds to either side.  Highlight of the day for my kiddos: we saw a snake swim from one side to the other:)

It was great with little kids because it is nice and shallow for quite a long way out, so they had lots of room to splash and play before we had to reel them back in.

There is a restroom building with pit toilets.  Those didn't seem very well maintained.  The door didn't close on the women's, and they were pretty gross.

Kingston Spring Lake Park
Spring Lake View Drive ~ Kingston, WI

Preview Post: Pietrek Park

Pietrek Park is a Trempealeau County park.  It looks like it is a beautiful park with LOTS to do!

There is disc golf, volleyball, and basketball.  There is also a playground and a beach.

The park has a campground, so there must be bathrooms available as well.

I think this park is free since I can't find any entrance fee prices anywhere, but I do know that sometimes county parks require payment to get in.

Pietrek Park
N31500 State Road 93 ~ Arcadia, WI ~ (715) 538-2311 ext. 251

Regner Park

Regner Park is a large park in West Bend.  It looks like they have a LOT to offer, but we went there to swim.

I will start by saying it was a really nice beach and splash pad.  It is a man-made pond with lifeguards.  There began the less desirable qualities.  I am all for safety, but this place seemed little over-the-top.  Kids under....5? 6? (I'm not sure because the prerecorded repeating announcement contradicted itself) are required to be within arm's reach of their guardian.  Seems like a reasonable request, right?  Except the "kiddie" area of this beach is VERY shallow VERY far in.  I do not need to stand in water up to my ankles to keep my child within arm's reach.  I can sit on the beach and watch her safely. Yes, I know kids can drown in 2 inches of water, but in the very slim chance her face went in and didn't pop right back out, I could easily stand up and run to grab her in plenty of time.  And even kids with flotation devices are not allowed to go past their armpits without passing a swim test.  Now HERE is where the arm's reach rule would actually make sense to me.  If she's past her armpits I should be able to reach her.  But no matter because she can't go there anyway.  And flotation devices aren't allowed outside of the very shallow kiddie area, so...? Don't worry, if you even think about doing something that might not be allowed, a lifeguard will start yelling through a megaphone from their chair.  You can't entirely understand them sometimes, and you usually have no idea whether they are yelling at you or someone else, but there is a lot of yelling none-the-less.

Overall, the kids really did enjoy themselves, and it was a nice clean place.  And I will say I'm sure they almost never have any incidents.  I just found it to be a little bit stressful.  I was looking forward to be able to relax a bit knowing there were lifeguards watching, but it felt to me more like I was constantly on edge trying to make sure we weren't getting in trouble.  It would probably also be better if you went there a few times and were more familiar with the expectations.

In the winter, the pond turns into a skating rink, which sounds fun.

Also at the park: playgrounds, trails, a fishing pond, and sport fields.  There is a labrynth garden, too!  I wish I would have known, because I would definitely have dragged my kiddo there to check it out.

Would I go back to explore the park some more?  Absolutely!  Would I take my kids swimming there again?  No.

Regner Park
800 N Main Street ~ West Bend, WI ~ (262)335-5087
Admission: for swimming $4/adult, $3/child, 2&under free

River Bend RV Resort

River Bend RV Resort just outside of Watertown is more than just a campground.  It is actually a great place to hang out for a day!  To be honest, we were really only interested in their water park.

Now, if you're looking for a Wisconsin-Dells-caliber water park, this is not it.  But if you are looking for a swimming hole with some fun extras, River Bend is a great place to try.

First off, there IS an old-fashioned swimming hole.  Well, maybe not exactly traditional.

They have a shallow, sandy beach on one side.  Across the buoy line is much deeper with inflatable water equipment, like jumping pads and slides.  We did not venture that far with two little ones, but we did enjoy the floating lounges the resort puts out.  They are pretty sturdy and fun to float around on.

 The main attraction, though, is the pool area.  River Bend has a nice splash pad/kiddie pool.  We had to hold both of our kids (ages 5 & 2) back from racing in as soon as they saw it.  There are fountains, a spray arch, and a slide with a nice pad at the bottom, as well as plenty of open water for playing.

And then we ventured to the big pool!  I would say the main draw to River Bend is probably the big green water slides.  However, both of ours were still too small for those ones.  It is also worth noting that they do not run the entire time the pool is open.

Although the kiddo was a little disappointed she couldn't go on the big slides, they BOTH had a blast flying down the little slides.  There is a smaller frog slide (above, at the right) as well as a pretty decent-sized eagle slide (below, at the left).  We did lots of swimming practice and sliding.  The eagle slide was the definite favorite, but they are both good and fast.

We visited as soon as the pool opened in the morning, so we worked up quite an appetite by the time we dragged the kids out a few hours later.  We opted to order some lunch to-go from their restaurant.  It was reasonably priced and gone before we got home!

One thing I really appreciated about River Bend was that they allowed us to use our own floaties.  For some reason some places don't, but I always feel more comfortable when the kids have them on.

River Bend has nice bathrooms with coin-operated showers.

River Bend RV Resort
 W6940 Rubidell Rd ~ Watertown, WI ~ (920) 261-7505
Admission: 3&under free, Monday-Thursday $5/person, Friday-Sunday $10/person

Preview Post: Plamann Park

While Plamann Park in Appleton does not have a playground, they offer quite a bit in its place.  One of the park's main features is its trail system.

Another more seasonal attraction is the beach.  There is a small lake with sand beaches open for swimming in the summer.

In the summer, they also house a petting zoo with animals from area farms.

Plamann Park
1375 East Broadway Drive ~ Appleton, WI ~ (920) 832-4790
Admission: Free, fees for beach: free/seniors, $3/Ages 16&up, $2.50/Ages 4-15, free/under 4

Preview Post: South Twin Park

South Twin Park looks like a great place to play in Amery!  There is a sandy beach on South Twin Lake.  There is no life guard on duty, so watch closely.  There is a large, covered picnic area and a building with showers (and I would assume toilets?).

I see plenty of space to run around. The park is listed as having a playground, but that looks to consist of a few swings and maybe a see-saw.

South Twin Park
W Elm Street & Water Avenue ~ Amery, WI

Big Bay Town Park

Big Bay Town Park is a superior park on Lake Superior!  (See what I did there?)  It is one of the parks on Madeline Island, the only Apostle Island that is not part of the Apostle Island National Shoreline.

There is not a playground, but there are trails and a great lagoon for swimming or kayaking/canoeing (available to rent).  Lake Superior is really too cold for swimming, but this lagoon is nice and warm-ish...and gorgeous!  We even saw a deer swim across the lagoon.  There is also beach to play in on the shore of Lake Superior.

Big Bay Town Park
2305 Town Park Circle ~ La Pointe, WI ~ 715-747-3031

Preview Post: Alma Public Beach

So...Alma Public Beach.  I'm having a really hard time finding anything about the beach!  Anyone been there?  I think I found just one or two pictures, and if they really are the same beach, it looks like it would be nice for wading and playing in the sand.  Check it out and let me know!

Alma Public Beach
1 Mile north of Alma ~ Alma, WI

Preview Post: Crescent Beach

Crescent Beach looks like a nice, clean beach on Lake Michigan.  Visitors may swim, play in the sand, or stroll on the boardwalk.

Crescent Beach
Lake St (Hwy 42) ~ Algoma, WI

Point Beach State Forest

I believe the main draw to Point Beach is the camping.  That's why we were there!  There are many trails to explore. 

As the name suggests, the park also hosts beachfront on Lake Michigan.  I was a bit disappointed by the beach.  I remember going to the beach each year growing up, and it was a great sandy place to play.  There is still a narrow strip of sand, but I believe a few years ago the park began an initiative to allow the dunes to return to their more natural state, so most of the beach is now covered in beach grass and native plants.  Great for environmental promotion, but not so easy to find a place to lay out beach towels!  There is also a separate dog beach for those so inclined.

Toward the north end of the park's beach is a concession stand.  Just a short walk up from that is a playground.  There is not a whole lot there: a few wooden/metal structures, some swings, and a few picnic benches.  There is also a grass ball diamond.  What there is a lot of is open space.

Point Beach State Forest
9400 Cty Hwy O ~ Two Rivers, WI ~ 920-794-7480
Admission: A state park vehicle pass is required.  Daily ($7) or Annual ($25) passes are available.  They cost slightly more for out-of-state vehicles.

Menominee Park and Zoo

 Menominee Park is a large park in Oshkosh.  There are ball diamonds, a beach, a large community-constructed wooden playground, and a zoo!

There is also a walking path through the park.  There is a small "amusement" area with a car ride and carousel.  It also hosts a small train that runs through the park.  Paddle boats are available for rent.  Most of the park is free (including the zoo), but it does cost to ride the rides.  While most of these are only open seasonally, there is definitely a plethora of activities to keep the whole family busy!

Babygirl on the carousel

Menominee Park
520 Pratt Trail ~ Oshkosh, WI ~ 920-236-5082